With the NBA Rookie Photo Shoot taking place at the Knicks’ practice facility today, all of the rookies were in town for the festivities. So what happens when a bunch of 20 something year-olds have nothing to do on a Monday night? A video game tournament transpires. And luckily for them, EA Sports was in the house to hold them down.

After much deliberation, the eight-person bracket was filled out, and Dime was the only media outlet in the room (let alone a 30-mile radius) to watch it all go down. While one flatscreen had guys playing the new NBA Elite 11, the other one for the tourney was all about NBA JAM. Read on to see what happened. Read More »

It’s never fun to be the last player in the green room on Draft Day. As a hooper, you grow up dreaming of that one moment where you will stand up proudly on stage at Madison Square Garden and pound knuckles with David Stern for the first time. Being invited to sit as a green room attendee is fun, but it can sometimes turn into a schoolyard kickball game; waiting anxiously to hear your name called by the captain. And that’s just what happened to Nevada sophomore Luke Babbitt. Read More »

It seems like Pau Gasol still has some power over something. More than two years after the incredible garage sale deal of Gasol to the L.A. Lakers that damaged the Grizzlies’ reputation, Memphis is still dealing with questions about their direction and organizational leadership.

With less than two weeks before the NBA Draft, The Commercial-Appeal is reporting that there are a number of potential lottery picks who refuse to work out with the Grizzlies: Read More »

When Elliot Williams first arrived on the Duke University campus back in 2008, the dreams of potential glory that surround any five-star hoops recruit were magnified for the Cameron Crazies. Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils hadn’t advanced past the Sweet Sixteen in four years, and the elusive National Championship trophy hadn’t found its way to Durham since 2001. Williams was going to help change all that; fresh off a disappointing second-round exit in the tourney, the Duke Blue Devils had potentially found their missing spark in the 6-4 shooting guard out of Tennessee. Two years later, Duke has its National Championship, but all Williams has are hopes for an NBA career. Read More »

The NBA Draft combine at Chicago’s A.T.T.A.C.K. Center was uneventful in the sense that nobody greatly improved or drastically torpedoed their stock. Measurements were taken, interviews were done, and that was about it. No incredible shrinking Mike Beasley or Kevin Durant power lifting exhibitions this year.

So three weeks before the draft, individual workouts and, you know, game footage will take precedence as teams close in on their picks. This updated mock draft is a combination of what we think teams should do, and what we think they will do: Read More »

While last night’s immediate Lottery fallout was all about the Washington Wizards and John Wall, now we can begin to get an idea of how the rest of the draft will play out after the top spot. This is the first of many Dime mock drafts leading up to June 24. As usual, it’s a combination of what we think teams should do and what we think they will do: Read More »

You know what’s the best thing about NCAA sophomores? They’re not freshmen. Not that two-year players are significantly less likely to be NBA Draft busts than one-and-done guys — ask Cedric Simmons, Pat O’Bryant and Chris Taft about that — but for a lot of the players who do get that extra year in the weight room and of game experience, it can pay huge dividends once they hit the pros. Read More »

It was only one year ago, but given North Carolina’s recent struggles, their ’09 national championship seems like ancient history. But if you remember, back when Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green were leading the Tar Heels to the crown, Ed Davis was a freshman backup drawing comparisons to Marvin Williams. Read More »

So much for that leisurely victory lap for the Lakers. While the LAPD was still kicking stragglers out of the Coliseum from the championship parade, two of the biggest threats to a Lakers’ repeat just got a lot more threatening. First the Spurs bought Richard Jefferson from the discount bin on Tuesday, and then last night, the Cavs went and got Shaq … Total money move for the Suns, who got Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic out of the deal. They’re probably gonna buy out Wallace, and Sasha is a practice player for them. But you have to assume now that Amar’e Stoudemire‘s place on the team is safe, since they don’t have to unload his salary and he’s the only legit inside threat on the roster … Read More »